[metmom]

So, you believe intercessory prayer for others is unnecessary or heretical? How about when the pastor leads the congregation in prayer, or prays at a wedding or funeral?

If the person is praying to God, God will hear him. It's irrelevant whether the prayer is for someone else or yourself.

[Albion Wilde]

I think you may be missing the point of what I've been trying to illustrate. I'm talking about small groups where people do participate in group prayer, "for where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them." Sometimes a member will ask for prayers for someone with a specific issue, such as a teenager with a drug problem. What you do not want in a small group is to hear this request repeated as gossip in the larger community because one person trusted the others in the small group to hear a heartfelt request for prayer.

I agree, that God hears our earnest prayers in private. But I also believe that intercessory prayer helps many people, both the person prayed for and the persons doing the praying. Are you sure you have been addressing what I have described above?